More restaurants, vending machines to display calorie counts

Thursday

Dec 27, 2012 at 11:48 AMDec 27, 2012 at 12:02 PM

But will it change our eating habits

Christina Janney, GateHous Media

A Big Mac, a large Coke and large fries has 1,360 calories — more than three times the recommended 400 calories per meal.Public health officials hope seeing calorie counts like these on restaurant menus and vending machines will lead consumers to make healthier food choices and help reduce obesity in America. But as Americans increasingly opt for meals outside the home, the battle's quickly becoming uphill.

'Healthy' optionsThe Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 requires restaurants with 20 or more locations to post calorie counts on menus. According to the Food and Drug Administration, 280,000 of the United State's 600,000 restaurants will be subject to the new regulations.In September, McDonald's was one of the first large fast food chains to roll out the new menus.Starting in­­ 2013, the American Beverage Association is launching its Calories Count program with Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, where calorie information will be posted on vending machines. The program is first rolling out in a few cities, then going nation-wide.Whether the up-front information will lead to healthier choices is still up for debate.Local parent Penny Rutherford, mother of Weston, 10, and Auston, 7, believes the Calorie Count could make a difference if parents would lead by example.Her family doesn't generally eat out of vending machines. However next year, the eldest Rutherford child will be in middle school and permitted to make his own decisions in how he spends his allowance."If the signs are noticeable enough and there's something to draw the kid's attention it could make an impact," Rutherford said. "McDonald's already has its stuff posted and it seems to be working. So yeah, if the marketing for the vending machines is attractive and noticeable, I think it too can make an impact." Rutherford added, "If parents eat right, it's likely their children will, too."Rutherford doesn't support soda machines in school. Her children are limited to one soft drink a week, on weekends only. They mainly drink water, milk and Kool-Aid. To further her stance on making healthy and nutritious choices when dining out, she entered a contest a few years ago to create a low-sodium sandwich and won second place. Audrain Medical Center employees Anne Barnes and Jolene Harrison, also parents of local elementary and middle school-age students, see childhood obesity as a concern both nationally and locally. In addition to the Calorie Count campaign, they encourage more physical activity."A lot of students that I see in my kids' classes tend to be on the obese side. My kids don't buy from vending machines, unless it's necessary, so I think they would look at the calorie counts if they were there. Especially, if it were in the form of a video game," Harrison said. "Students in middle school are more conscientious about weight and such stuff. So they might pay more attention to the signs," she added.thinking most about the calories."When it comes to dining out, we go out with a different perspective," said Stacey Semple, Kirksville resident and mother of two young boys. "When we go out we're not that worried about it and when it comes to a kid's meal, it's kind of a special treat."For her family's nutrition, most of the management and control takes place at home.At home, Semple said her 6- and 8-year-old boys are allowed snacks like fruit, granola and yogurt and that soda is usually reserved for the weekend."We're definitely not obsessive calorie counters, but we keep healthier options on hand to help encourage healthy choices in the future," she said.Another mother, Jennifer Taylor Rider, said in a Facebook reply that she views nutrition and food as the body's fuel and strives to "put in the best possible foods to operate [at] your highest potential."She also limits her children's intake of soda and sugar."Obesity among our youth is growing at an extreme rate," she said.But it's not just youth that are seeing the bulge. The percentage of calories Americans consume away from home has almost doubled since the late 1970s, according to the USDA Economic Research Service — and it's affecting our health and waist lines. A study from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute published in 2004 indicated young adults who eat frequently at fast food restaurants gain more weight and have a greater increase in insulin resistance in early middle age.Insulin resistance is a risk factor for type 2 diabetes, and diabetes is a major risk factor for heart disease.

Expanding awareness, waistlinesAs Americans' eating-out habits have increased, so has the nation's obesity rate.The percentage of children in the United States who were obese increased from 7 percent in 1980 to almost 20 percent in 2008, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Adolescents saw a similar increase. More than one-third of U.S. adults are obese, resulting in about $147 billion in health care costs in 2008, according to the CDC. Jim White, registered dietitian and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, said calorie awareness is important for addressing overeating in America."I don't think it is going to harm anything," he said of posting calorie counts on menus. "I think some people are going to be alarmed at the calories in some common restaurant items. A common restaurant meal can be 800 to 1,000 calories. I recommend a lot women have a 400-calorie-per-meal plan. They are getting 75 percent of their calories for a normal day in one meal."Whether or not the calorie shock will truly dissuade consumers from ordering high-calorie, high-fat foods remains to be seen.Two major university studies have shown conflicting results of posting calories counts on menus.A Stanford study of Starbucks consumers showed a 6 percent decrease in calorie consumption when food calorie counts were posted on menus.New York University researchers found about 28 percent of New York City customers indicated calorie labeling influenced their choices.However, the participants' receipts showed they purchased about the same amount of calories before the labeling went into effect.

Teetering on the edge of healthDespite the calorie postings, some consumers will continue to opt for high-calorie, high-fat choices, with convenience and cost being large factors in those decisions, White said.White noted many of the items on fast food dollar menus are the higher calorie foods, which may make it more difficult for consumers with fewer economic resources to make healthy choices. "I think there are definitely certain people who will not opt for a healthy lifestyle, regardless," he said, "but I think there is a certain population that is teetering and might choose a healthier lifestyle if they had the information. It is that middle population we are looking at."White said creating calories awareness at restaurants may lead to healthier eating at home."If you can eat healthy at a fast food restaurant, you can eat healthy anywhere," White said. "If you can face great-tasting things like cheeses and butter and tasty fried foods, you've dodged a bullet."— Taylor Muller contributed to this report.Her family doesn't generally eat out of vending machines. However next year, the eldest Rutherford child will be in middle school and permitted to make his own decisions in how he spends his allowance."If the signs are noticeable enough and there's something to draw the kids' attention it could make an impact," Rutherford said. "McDonald's already has its stuff posted and it seems to be working. So yeah, if the marketing for the vending machines is attractive and noticeable, I think it too can make an impact." Rutherford added, "If parents eat right, it's likely their children will, too."Rutherford doesn't support soda machines in school. Her children are limited to one soft drink a week, on weekends only. They mainly drink water, milk and Kool-Aid. To further her stance on making healthy and nutritious choices when dining out, she entered a contest a few years ago to create a low-sodium sandwich and won second place. Audrain Medical Center employees Anne Barnes and Jolene Harrison, also parents of local elementary and middle school-age students, see childhood obesity as a concern both nationally and locally. In addition to the Calorie Count campaign, they encourage more physical activity."A lot of students that I see in my kids' classes tend to be on the obese side. My kids don't buy from vending machines, unless it's necessary, so I think they would look at the calorie counts if they were there. Especially, if it were in the form of a video game," Harrison said. "Students in middle school are more conscientious about weight and such things. So they might pay more attention to the signs," she added.The percentage of calories Americans consume away from home has almost doubled since the late 1970s, according to the USDA Economic Research Service — and it's affecting our health and waist lines. A study from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute published in 2004 indicated young adults who eat frequently at fast food restaurants gain more weight and have a greater increase in insulin resistance in early middle age.Insulin resistance is a risk factor for type 2 diabetes, and diabetes is a major risk factor for heart disease.

Expanding awareness, waistlinesAs Americans' eating-out habits have increased, so has the nation's obesity rate.The percentage of children in the United States who were obese increased from 7 percent in 1980 to almost 20 percent in 2008, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Adolescents saw a similar increase. More than one-third of U.S. adults are obese, resulting in about $147 billion in health care costs in 2008, according to the CDC. Jim White, registered dietitian and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, said calorie awareness is important for addressing overeating in America."I don't think it is going to harm anything," he said of posting calorie counts on menus. "I think some people are going to be alarmed at the calories in some common restaurant items. A common restaurant meal can be 800 to 1,000 calories. I recommend a lot women have a 400-calorie-per-meal plan. They are getting 75 percent of their calories for a normal day in one meal."Whether or not the calorie shock will truly dissuade consumers from ordering high-calorie, high-fat foods remains to be seen.Two major university studies have shown conflicting results of posting calories counts on menus.A Stanford study of Starbucks consumers showed a 6 percent decrease in calorie consumption when food calorie counts were posted on menus.New York University researchers found about 28 percent of New York City customers indicated calorie labeling influenced their choices.However, the participants' receipts showed they purchased about the same amount of calories before the labeling went into effect.

Teetering on the edge of healthDespite the calorie postings, some consumers will continue to opt for high-calorie, high-fat choices, with convenience and cost being large factors in those decisions, White said.White noted many of the items on fast food dollar menus are the higher calorie foods, which may make it more difficult for consumers with fewer economic resources to make healthy choices. "I think there are definitely certain people who will not opt for a healthy lifestyle, regardless," he said, "but I think there is a certain population that is teetering and might choose a healthier lifestyle if they had the information. It is that middle population we are looking at."White said creating calories awareness at restaurants may lead to healthier eating at home."If you can eat healthy at a fast food restaurant, you can eat healthy anywhere," White said. "If you can face great-tasting things like cheeses and butter and tasty fried foods, you've dodged a bullet."

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